Project Bawri: Reviving Rajasthan's Stepwells

Project Bawri restores Rajasthan's forgotten bawris — multi-story stepwells engineered centuries ago to capture and store monsoon rainwater — as low-cost, climate-resilient water sources for drought-prone villages. The team has revived two stepwells, Bhanpur Kala Ki Bawri and Sarjoli Chul Ki Bawri, with Bhanpur now supplying over 21,000 liters of clean water a day and reaching more than 3,000 villagers. Restoration work is carried out with local artisans and the NGO Gram Bharti Samiti, and each site is fitted with a custom IoT water-quality sensor tracking pH, turbidity and other parameters in real time. Project Bawri also runs water walks and school workshops to pass on the traditional rainwater-harvesting knowledge behind the structures.